2013 Barcelona Post-Race MotoGP Test Press Releases

Press releases from some of the MotoGP teams after the test at Barcelona:

Crutchlow fifth in Catalunya test, Smith heads for surgery

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team riders Cal Crutchlow and Bradley Smith finished a one-day test at the Circuit de Catalunya inside the top 10 today, the British duo satisfied with progress made in hot conditions.

Following his unfortunate early crash out of podium contention in yesterday’s race, Crutchlow dedicated the majority of his time on track today to working on improving his feeling with a full fuel tank.

Crutchlow tried several modifications to his YZR-M1 machine and he was happy to make positive steps that allowed him to feel more confident and faster with a full fuel load. The 27-year-old was fifth fastest and his best time of 1.42.462 that was less than 0.2s away from the top three.

He also tested a revised spec YZR-M1 frame but while it offered an improvement with braking stability, he will continue to race with the same chassis he’s used in the opening six rounds when the campaign resumes in Assen.

Smith was able to test for a two-hour stint this morning, the British rider completed 25 laps as he too evaluated front-end modifications to improve his pace with a full fuel tank.

The 22-year-old set a best time of 1.43.180 but cut short his day at noon to make the short trip to the USP Institut Universitari Dexeus of Barcelona where he was due to undergo a double operation on his left hand and wrist this evening.

Smith suffered a broken scaphoid bone in his left wrist and extensive damage to his left little finger when he crashed heavily during practice for the recent Italian MotoGP round at Mugello.

He bravely rode to a career best sixth position in yesterday’s Gran Premi Aperol de Cataluna, but the considerable pain and discomfort from both injuries resulted in a decision to undergo surgery as quickly as possible.

A screw was due to be inserted to stabilise the scaphoid and a skin graft carried out to repair the open wound on his little finger. Dr Xavier Mir, Head of the Hand Surgery Unit of the Orthopaedics Department of the USP Institut Universitari Dexeus, will supervise the double procedure.

Cal Crutchlow 5th 1.42.462 – 57 laps

“Each time I left the pits today I had a full fuel tank. That makes it difficult to make a lap time and it is hard to ride physically. I hope we have found something to help me at the start of the race. I want to be able to brake a bit deeper in the first few laps and it seems I can do that now. I’m sure we have found something because we had a big tailwind today and I could still brake 15 metres later into the first corner than I could in the race when there was a headwind. I tested a new chassis that Jorge (Lorenzo) used at the first couple of races and it isn’t any better than the frame I am on. I did the whole day on the new frame and braking stability was better but in other areas it didn’t feel quite as good. At the end I went out again on my old chassis and was immediately as fast as before and I was using a set of tyres that had already done 25-laps. I felt immediately fast and more comfortable and I will continue to use that frame.”

Bradley Smith 10th 1.43.180 – 25 laps

“The main focus of today was to try a few different settings for the front, especially to help at the beginning of the race with a full fuel load. We seem to have a good pace after the first eight laps so we need to improve before that. I wouldn’t say we found anything better but we found some ideas to try in the future and also give us some feedback on what works for my style. It is nice that we have been able to test because after six races I have more of an understanding of the bike, so I can give better feedback of what I like and don’t like. My lap time was pretty decent and I was quite surprised so it was a positive day. Now I am ready for the skin graft and to get a screw in the scaphoid. I can ride no problem and the lap time is not too bad but if I am going to go to Sachsenring and Laguna Seca, which are dominated by left-handers, then I need to do something with this wrist. It wasn’t great today and I wouldn’t want to be doing another race. When you are in a situation like this it is better to get it fixed. Now we have to completely immobilize it to race, so at least when that bone is stable it should be pain free.”

ALEIX ESPARGARÓ CONTINUES POSITIVE WORK AT POST-RACE TEST IN CATALONIA

POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar rider takes three-tenths off best time from the weekend at Montmeló, completing day of testing in seventh

Despite the intense heat at the Circuit de Catalunya on Monday, no rider was in the mood for an early departure. Besides the Honda factory riders and an isolated number of the MotoGP field, almost the entire grid was out on track for post-race testing at the Spanish circuit. It was an opportunity to try out things that time had not permitted during the race weekend, and the track was open from 10am until 6pm for hard work. The times were mostly slower than on the weekend –understandably given that the day was devoted to trying out new things. Jorge Lorenzo was the fastest rider, followed by Nicky Hayden and Stefan Bradl. Aleix Espargaró was seventh quickest.

Yesterday he finished eighth and was once again the best CRT finisher by far. However, Aleix Espargaró was disappointed that he had not been able to enjoy the race as much as other contests. To leave a better taste in his mouth, the POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar rider undertook a day of testing today, and did not want to waste a single minute of it. Today he worked with three different frames, in order to compare his feeling with each of them and pick the direction to take between now and the end of the season. He also worked with the new front forks debuted on Friday, in order to set them up and confirm that they provided a boost in front end stability. With the rear he adjusted the setup to make the chassis easily adjustable to any type of tyre compound. Exhausted after 63 laps and eight hours of uninterrupted riding, Espargaró concluded the test very satisfied with his showing and having taken three-tenths of his best time from the Catalan GP weekend.

7th Aleix Espargaró 1.42.537 (63 laps): "I am very pleased. I think that the test today was by far the most productive I’ve had since I've been on this team. We tested three different chassis, so we have collected a lot of data that has allowed us to compare all the material we have available. We have not stopped working today. This day of testing has helped us to determine which bikes we shall use from now until the end of the season. Although we have taken very good conclusions from the test, it is clear that we must continue working with the same intensity as always. I think we can still improve our confidence with the front, and I’m sure that our cornering will be faster when we get this down. I am very happy with everything that we have worked on, and we've improved upon our best time of the weekend -plus we were six-tenths off the fastest rider. You can’t ask for much more than that.”

Ducati Team concludes Barcelona post-race test

With this past weekend’s Catalan Grand Prix behind them, the Ducati Team and most of the other MotoGP riders were back in action today for a one-day, IRTA-organized test at the Circuit de Catalunya.

The team’s work schedule called for a continuation of the back-to-back comparisons between the bike that Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden have raced thus far, and the ‘laboratory’ version that has only been used in battle by Ducati Test Team rider Michele Pirro (at Jerez, Mugello, and Barcelona).

Once again, Hayden was more comfortable on the Spanish track, as the American posted the second-best time of the day. His 1:41.955 lap was just five-hundredths off of Jorge Lorenzo, while Dovizioso finished fourth-best on the day with a time of 1:42.417.

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) 2nd, 1:41.955 (73 laps)

“Overall, it was kind of an up-and-down day. We were here with the lab bike, but unfortunately, I’m consistently faster with the standard version. We want to do a step and come closer to the front guys, but at the moment, I can’t find it with the lab bike. I hope I at least got some good information for the engineers. I spent some time on my standard bike, and I had a pretty good feeling with it today and was able to check a couple of things. We also tested Bridgestone’s new hard rear tyre, which has good potential. We haven’t been able to use their current hard for most of the year, which makes race weekends tough, but I had a good feeling with the new one today and did a 42.4 on it. Hopefully that will give them some direction to help us as the summer gets hotter.”

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) 4th, 1:42.417 (56 laps)

“We did the comparison between the two frames on a track that’s much different from the others where we’ve tested. We still have to decide which one to use, but the difference is very small. Just like in the tests at Jerez and Mugello, the new frame seems better on corner entry but moves a bit more on exits. Anyway, the positives and the negatives are both minimal. Now we’ll decide which frame to use at Assen, but there aren’t big differences. Using one or the other won’t change much, so we’ll wait for more new parts.”

Bernhard Gobmeier – Ducati Corse General Manager

“After the disappointing race yesterday, we had some encouraging signs today. We tested a bunch of new things on the engine side, on the tyre side, and on the chassis side. Regarding the chassis, we’re still evaluating the data from the back-to-back comparison, and we’ll decide in the next few days which one to use.”

CAME IODARACING RIDERS CLOSED THE MONTMELO' TESTS

GRANOLLERS (SPAIN), June 16, 2013 - The day of MotoGP testing attended the CAME Iodaracing Team riders in Barcelona is just ended. On the circuit of Montmelo, where yesterday was running the sixth race of the 2013 season, Danilo Petrucci and Lukas Pesek led on track the latest update for the electronic control unit Magneti Marelli installed on their Ioda Suter BMW and a new fairing.

The test took place in ideal weather conditions with temperatures over 50 degrees on the asphalt. A crash, without consequences for Lukas Pesek doesn't stop the work for the rider in the today's tests.

DANILO PETRUCCI - MOTOGP RIDER - 49 LAPS - 1.44.477 - "I managed to finish this test with a good lap time, but our rivals are very close. Today we tried some new electronics and chassis settings with good results. Not only that, we brought also a new fairing on the track. however I was expecting to go faster, but even so it's not bad. "

LUKAS PESEK - MOTOGP RIDER - 52 LAPS - 1.47.379 "I have big problems with slipping, accentuated by the electronics that cuts too sharply, that's why I do still struggle in some parts of the track. The test was positive, however, I still need to do a lot of kilometers in MotoGP. "

Comments

Is the reason known as to why BMW is unwilling permit CRT BMWs to utlize the electronics they worked so hard in WSBK to perfect?

Do they seriously expect the CRT team(s) to be able to succeed when the entire of BMW project including two two man superbike teams, took years to get to grips with the electronics?

Does the fact that they are not helping out, following the same model Aprilia, mean it is more or less likely they are planning their own future assault on MotoGP? An argument could be made to suggest either.